Q. Is this really all I have to do for my workouts?
A. Great question!
Actually, that really is all you have to do. System Six: Easy Fat Loss™ workouts aren’t ever hugely long workouts.
That being said: Make it heavy enough that you’re getting something done. If you are used to doing 1000 reps with a really light weight, you’ll need to go heavier for workouts that are this short.
You could do the 4-8 minutes of kettlebell cardio right afterwards. The workouts are SHORT, and compared to everything else out there, REALLY REALLY EASY.
These workouts, by definition, are the absolute least amount of work, and easiest possible workouts a person can do and still lose fat.
It leaves lots of time and energy to plan/shop/prepare food, which is really what most people need to spend more time doing.
That bears repeating: Most people need to spend more time planning/shopping/preparing food. If they get this done, they can spend A LOT LESS TIME working out.
Q. Can I add more cardio?
Really great question.
The thing about this program is that it is the minimum – the absolute minimum that you have to do to lose fat. This program is about doing less.
If you want to add more cardio you totally can. I’ve had clients do this program with 5 days per week cardio – alternating ultra short (8 minute)swing cardio days with longer (20-30 minute) sprint intervals. The sprint intervals we’d do 1 minute on, 2 minutes off. The sprint intervals we’d do at 80% or so, and we wouldn’t really track that or worry about edging it up. Any time they felt tired or over-trained, we’d drop the sprint intervals immediately.
I’ve also had clients do it with long slow cardio. A lot of people think that I’m anti-long slow cardio, and it’s not true. I’m only against long slow cardio if :
a.) The client doesn’t have a lot of time
b.) Isn’t strength training
c.) Gets nagging pains from running
In any of those cases, long slow cardio isn’t appropriate. And given that 80% of the clients I work with fall into one or more of those three categories, I don’t use long slow cardio very often at all.
So what it looks like is again, alternating the two swing workouts with longer jogging days. Again, if they start feeling tired or overtrained, we drop the long slow cardio immediately.
In both cases, I only did this with clients that were already doing a ton of running/sprinting cardio, enjoyed it, and didn’t want to drop it. Long slow cardio actually is a great stress releiver if that is the goal – to use it to relax and clear your head, not to test the limits of how far you can go.
So to answer your question, you totally can add more cardio if you so desire. The point is that if the food is right, you really, really don’t have to.
I’m going to repeat that also – This program is the minimum. You can always add more. The whole point is that you don’t have to add more. If you are making the small changes in your food, you will be shocked at how little working out you can get away with.
Q. Can I do body rows instead of pullups?
A. Yes! I love body rows, and they make a great substitution.
That being said, I’m going to make a case for pullups, even at the “beginner” stages: hanging, flexed arm hang, negatives, ect:
There is a deliberate balance in the program if you do the pullups: You will notice that the kettlebell workouts have a horizontal pull and a vertical push, which matches perfectly with the bodyweight workouts having a horizontal push and a vertical pull.
On top of that, while most people never think of hangs, partial reps, and negatives being exercises – they’re all 1.) Powerful fat loss movements, and 2.) On the actual pullup bar.
One of the most unique things in the program is it gives you a progression to go from zero-pullups using a pullup bar. With most programs, if you can’t do pullups, a pullup bar is useless. System Six: Easy Fat Loss™ gets most people on the pullup bar immediately.
And I’ve found that the sooner I get people on the bar, the quicker they get to their first pullup.
Q. What abour rest periods?
A. In the volume phase we rest 3 minutes or so between sets. In the strength phases were are looking at 3 minutes between sets, and the exercises are usually done in groups or couplets.
One option would be
Deadlift by itself
rest 1 minute
Then a giant set of pushups, squats and pullups
rest up to 3 minutes
another option would be
Deadlift, superset with pushups
rest 1 minute
Squats superset with pullups
rest up to 3 minutes
And that kind of stuff I mix up all of the time to keep it interesting. If I have to increase rest periods for someone to do it perfectly or heavier, I’ll totally do that.
The one exception would be the tabata phase. Unlike most people who put 1 minute rest in between tabata sets, I put in 3-5 minutes rest.
Q. System Six: Easy Fat Loss seems to really take baby steps. Is it for beginners?
A. Great question! The program doesn’t discriminate between people who are new and people who long time workout veterans.
With people who’ve been eating clean and working out awesome we make changes in the EXACT same baby steps, just those steps are at a higher level.
Baby steps work in real life, they stick, and they last.
So while a beginner might just be working on getting in breakfast, an advanced workout person might be working on hitting a precise calorie goal.
Even if someone was a fitness competitor and they were working on something really advanced like adding in carbohydrate cycling, we’d still do it in the exact same way – changing one or two meals per week, and making it last.
It’s funny, because I designed the program for my most advanced clients, but it’s a totally awesome place to start for beginners. Same principles, but working on different levels.
Making small moves on the food planner grid is what changes people’s bodies FOREVER.
Q. What about a warmup?
A. I actually totally forgot to put in the warm up. Here it is:
Beginner:
20 Knee Pushups
20 Lunges
20 Hip Hinges or Face Away from the Wall Swing Drills
10 Knee Pushups
10 Lunges
10 Hip Hinges or Face Away from the Wall Swing Drills
Intermediate:
20 Pushups
20 Lunges
20 Swings with a light kettlebell
10 Pushups
10 Lunges
10 Swings with a light kettlebell
Advanced:
20 Lunges
20 Pushups
100 Kettlebell Swings
with one step lighter a kettlebell than you use for your cardio.
All of that can be broken up. There is no time limit on the warmup, no need to push the pace on the warmup.
System Six: Easy Fat Loss™
I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who got it, and thanks for all of the great comments people have sent me that they totally love it.
And I’ve been totally stoked how many trainers have let me know they got it. If you want me to write something up about how I use it with my clients I totally will, ’cause it’s a really, really unique way to work with your clients.
And anyone who hasn’t seen the video yet, it will totally turn everything you’ve ever heard about fat loss on it’s head: www.SystemSixEasyFatLoss.com
just finished reading system 6 – hard to believe, am I right in assuming that on day 1 of week one I am only doing 2 exercises. ALso you indicate that each phase is 4 weeks but you give 6 weeks for the 1st phase and 2 weeks for the tabata
Yes – two exercises.
So your day should look like this: Warmup – the two exercises – swings, go home. Short, sweet, to the point. Work your way through to heavier KBs or harder exercises when you can hit all the reps.
Some people are finding that they are going w/heavier KBs than they have on other fat loss programs, and that’s awesome.
Spend your newfound free time on ***food planning/shopping/prepping***. Essentially, the workout program leaves lots of time for working on the four Ninja Food Skills.
I’m going to update the program with ALL of the typos (there are a bunch, and I apologize).
The phases in the main program are six weeks, tabata phases are 3 weeks.
Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry I just can’t wrap my brain around this. I am currently doing my second round of p90x I can do 3 pull ups and deadlift 135
and I do have the time and I love working out. Could I maybe do 4 days instead of 3, or maybe the 3 days and something like a bodyrock workout on the off days
I have the food thing pretty well figured out although I do not always follow
my “plan” sorry to be a “doubting Thomas”
If you have the time and love to work out, YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WORK OUT!
For everyone that wants to do MORE, of course you can do more! The whole point of this program is to do the absolute least possible that still gets results. If you want to do more because you want to do more, you can, you just don’t *have to do more*
I have clients that work out at least five hours per week year-round, ’cause they love it and they have the time. At the peak of their “bus bench” workout phases, they’re doing ten to twelve hours of working out per week.
That just isn’t my average reader. My average reader wants to be under 20% bodyfat, and doesn’t have the time or energy to do that, and that’s what this program is for.
As for the 135lb deadlift x 3 and the 3 pullups, that’s a screen: If you are over that line, then you know that you’re going to get more bang for your buck (body composition wise) from working on your nutrition than you are from more working out.
But that’s not why you’re working out. You’re working out because you love it, and so you want to work out more. I understand that.
There is a possibility that this isn’t the program for you. Most of the fat loss programs out there have much longer workouts, and you really want more working out I totally get that. If you want a program with more workouts and longer workouts I’d be happy to help you find one that you’ll like.
I believe that the tool (the program) should be dictated by the goal. So it really all comes down to what your goal is.